The Bridal Party
I might have been a little too excited to go to Paris, readily ignoring all the screaming questions in the back of my head. How could I have ended up in bed with Levi? How could I have said yes to Sandrine? How could I continue to plan this wedding if I still had feelings for the groom? Well, I pled insanity. And Paris was my asylum.
After tying up some loose ends for events happening during the weekend I was away, I dragged myself home, packed for hours since I couldn't decide what to bring for Paris, then dropped onto my bed to sleep. Three hours later, I was fully awake, but extremely tired.
Unfortunately, it gave me more time to rethink my wardrobe choices and I had to go through my luggage again. By the end of it, the driver sent to pick me up had to rush me so that I would not miss the plane. I argued with myself that I might have packed too much, or too little. Were five pairs of shoes enough? Should I have brought another LBD?
When I arrived at the airfield, where a sleek private plane awaited, I saw the luggages being loaded, and confirmed that I indeed hadn't packed enough. Counting at least three luggages for Isobel alone, I panicked. I was going to look like a tourist.
Chase had printed out a 'what not to do' list for me, and a very long and detailed 'what not to wear'. Through the hustle, three of the five shoes I brought were sneakers, a telltale of the great American tourist, and according to Chase's list, looking like a tourist was a big no-no.
Almost everyone was present, including Levi. I groaned at the sight of him. It was my first time seeing him since that dreadful morning. I tried not to dwell on it, and had busied myself with work. I'd chalked it up to intoxication, a slight bout of loneliness, and misdirection. Misdirection? Yeah, that sounded right.
Good thing he was too busy on the phone to notice my arrival.
Isobel hugged me like we hadn't seen each other in years, instead of just a few days. She insisted that we sat together once we stepped on the plane, and I was more than happy to oblige. She couldn't stand to be around Levi, and I didn't think he'd ever warmed up to her. Classic avoidance tactic.
We were promptly handed champagne as we took our seats, although I refused to drink mine since the last drinking debacle (cue Levi passing us and winking). I asked for some sparkling water instead. As our plane was preparing its take off, I noticed that we were short two people. Sandrine left last night and Olivier, the mysterious guest was also MIA. I turned to Isobel to ask about him.
"Aren't we waiting for someone else?" I querried.
Isobel looked around us. "Who? Everyone's here. Sandrine left yesterday to prepare for our grand arrival." She winced when she said her name, and snorted when she finished.
"How about Olivier?"
She quirked her eyebrow. She seemed confused. "Olivier?"
"Yeah. Sandrine said he's coming too. She mentioned he was going to be here. Who is he anyway?"
Isobel laughed out loud. I felt a blush color my face. Was I missing some important tidbit or was I the butt of a joke? Perhaps both.
"But he's here. Olivier." Her fingers waved in the air.
She pointed across the aisle where Jake was engrossed in a book, and Levi was animatedly talking in French to our very beautiful flight attendant. I quickly averted my eyes before he noticed me looking. I turned back to Isobel with a look that said that I had no idea what she was saying. She laughed again, brushing a tear off her eye, and slapping her hands to her thighs.
When she finally quieted, she explained. "Veronica, Olivier is Levi." Pause for effect. "Olivier Laurent. He's like French old money." She flicked her fingers in the air again, lowered her voice as she continued, "Apparently he's a descendant of Napoleon Bonaparte. He's almost royalty but you wouldn't guess it by the way he acts around people, women in particular. This plane is his, or his family's. Can you believe it? I mean, I've been in private planes before but nothing like this. This is beyond posh. He's that rich." A smug look appeared on her face.
"Oh. I didn't realize." Ever since meeting Levi, I took no interest on him. It didn't matter to me what he did for a living. I just knew he was wealthy. And a jerk. And had a very sexy body. I shook my head to clear my wayward thoughts. "When Sandrine told me that this Olivier was coming with us, I thought it was one of her cousins or something. Well, thanks for clearing it up. It would have been embarrassing had I said something out loud."
Her hand patted my arm in a soothing manner. "I told you. I got your back, sister." She winked. Great, not that again. But gratefully, she didn't push forward.
Once we had the all clear to leave the runway, I immersed myself in some work I brought with me. Just because I was headed to Paris didn't mean I could slack off. I still considered a big chunk of this trip to be work-related. The company wouldn't survive on its own, neither would Chase, not without my supervision.
One of the things that always stopped me from working was a full bladder. After having too many glasses of sparkling water, I stretched up and headed to the bathroom that Isobel pointed at. I walked by Landon and Trent, involved in a very serious game of chess. They waved at me as I passed.
I reached the polished door of the bathroom, and didn't see any indication that it was occupied, but I was obviously wrong.
When I opened it, I was surprised (only by a little) to see Levi with the French attendant, named Sophie, about to join the mile high club. I supressed my shock, closed the door immediately, then hurried back to my seat.
"That was fast," Isobel said.
"I didn't go. It was occupied." I busied myself by picking up a Paris guide book.
"There's another one at the front. It's smaller but functional."
"Thanks." I stood right away, and walked to the smaller bathroom. I did my business, cleaned up, took off my contacts (the cabinair was drying my eyes out) and put my glasses on. When I returned to the seats, Isobel had joined her cousins, Levi was still absent, and so was the glamorous Sophie. The slight pang of jealousy jarred me, but I managed to shake it off.
Jake waved at me to join him, looking up from his book, and patting the unoccupied seat on his side. I grabbed my stuff off my seat and sat beside him.
"Are you okay? I know you don't like to fly." That wasn't completely true. I loved flying. I just hated the touch down part. I was touched that he remembered. I wondered idly what else he remembered about us. About me.
"I'm fine, thanks. I'm just doing a bit of work. What are you doing?" I pointed at the book in his hand. It looked like a manual and he confirmed it by saying "work".
I smiled at him, let him work and continued mine. A few minutes later I felt a presence beside me. Levi was back from his little tryst. I turned a slight away from his direction but I could feel his eyes trained on me. And managed to ignore him long enough in the end.
Although, when Jake got up to stretch his long legs, Levi took the chance to sit beside me. I straightened upon hearing him sigh.
"You look adorable in glasses. Like a sexy librarian," he whispered, the scent of champagne tickling my ear. Seriously? Could he be any more cliché?
"My eyes were dry. They're just glasses," I bit back, pushing the spectacles closer to my face.
They really were just glasses, non-designer, black nondescript glasses. They were glasses your grandmother could pick up from the drugstore, but I didn't, I still paid tons for mine. "Aren't you supposed to be... somewhere else?"
"Somewhere else? Like where?" I had managed not to have eye contact with him since he sat down, but that didn't stop him from trying to get me to look his way.
He fiddled with the papers tucked between me and the armrest. He even felt the fabric of my shirt. He reminded me of a five-year old boy with ADD. Maybe that was it. He had adult ADHD, which might explain the constant changing in girlfriends or partners, including flight attendants. I just couldn't believe that I was now part of that list. I sucked in a groan.
Although I still had trouble remembering the sex part, which surprised me a little bit since Levi was a self-proclaimed Sex God, I was also relieved that I couldn't remember that much. It was enough to pine for the groom. I didn't have to lust after the best man too.
He continued to touch my things which brought me back to my point: he needed to be somewhere else. "Maybe Sophie, our flight attendant, needs help filling up the drink cart." I added her title just in case he'd never bothered to ask for her name.
I felt him stiffen beside me, then eased. "So that was you who opened the door."
Now that got my attention. He wasn't even denying or hiding it. "Why? Are you jealous?" His smirk irked me.
"You've gotta be kidding," I mocked him, looking over my glasses.
A couple of beats passed when he snuggled closer to me, whispering in my ear. "You've already spent one night with me, sweetheart. You know how great that feels." His words sent shivers throughout my body, but I had to remember to whom I was talking.
I wanted to smack him, hard, right on the kisser, but that would only make everyone curious. So I settled for a retort, something I didn't usually do but Levi brought the bitch out of me. I took off my glasses, shook my hair as seductively as I could a la shampoo commercials, and sucked on the bottom of my lip. The trick worked, attracting Levi's eyes to my reddened lip.
In my most vixen-breathy voice, I said, "Maybe it was one night with me that made the difference. You're just itching for a repeat performance." I leaned in closer. This time, I captured the tip of my thumb between my lips, then brushed the bottom with the same thumb. "I was so great that you had to have me again."
Our faces were so close I could feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek. His pupils dilated. My breath faltered. Neither one of us was touching the other, but electricity zinged over my skin.
His countenance turned serious, then slowly his lips curled into a seductive smile. My stomach fluttered, and my lower abs contracted. I hated that he knew how good looking he was. And that he could see the effect he suddenly had on me.
"Nica, you're not staying with us?" Jake's voice pulled me out of Levi's trance. I gulped and sat back on my seat, crossing my shaking legs. He sat across from us, leaning forward, arms resting on his legs. "Isobel said you're staying at a hotel. We have more than enough room for you."
Levi laughed, keeping me from answering Jake's question, but then the prick answered for me. "You're wondering why your ex-girlfriend isn't staying with you and your current lover?"
I glared at Levi. He might have been telling the truth but he didn't have to be rude. I turned to Jake, who looked extremely uncomfortable, and smiled.
"I'm considering this as work-related travel, and I'd like to experience Paris as a real American tourist. I want to explore the city a bit when I'm not needed, and I didn't want you guys to fuss over me. Plus, I've already booked a room at a mixed Baroque and Contemporary hotel facing the Eiffel Tower."
"Ah, the Baroque period." Jake said, clearly remembering a conversation we had. His face softened and the smile on his lips brought back the happiest memories.
He explained it to Levi. "Baroque is Nica's favorite art period. She thinks it's the most romantic." He tilted his head as he looked back at me with that sweet smile.
"Remember when I argued that Renaissance was more romantic, you chewed me out talking about Caravaggio and Tenebrosi, Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age, and how Chiaroscuro in The Baroque period was all about deeper, livelier colors filled with passion in contrast to to secretive darkness of the backgrounds." Jake shook his head as we both laughed.
"I think you fell asleep when I started talking about Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring." I was still shaking from laughter, but quieted down when I turned and saw the sadness and confusion in Levi's eyes.
I couldn't let him affect me. This was the most Jake and I had talked about our past, since our breakup.
"Levi, did you know that Nica has a Masters in Fine Arts?" Jake asked him, clearly noticing Levi's mood.
Levi just shook his head, slouching into his seat.
"Maybe you should take her to the Louvre so she can give you an art history lesson like she gave me when we went to the Guggenheim," Jake suggested. And I just about wet my pants.
Levi, clearly liking the suggestion, sprang back up. His blue eyes lit with excitement. "You want to? I may be able to get you a private tour."
"No, thanks," I said, turning away from him.
"Why not? I'd be a great tour guide." The man wasn't short on humility.
I shut down my iPad and rearranged my papers. "I highly doubt it." I looked up to see Jake had gone back to reading his book. Clearly, our trip back to memory lane was over.
Levi didn't relent, and didn't stop saying please.
rolling my eyes, I huffed at Levi, "Give me five reasons why you would be." I splayed my fingers up at him.
"Just five?" What a prick. He raised his left hand, counting off his reasons. "I speak the language better than anyone on this plane and possibly than most Parisién. I lived there for a number of years so I know the city rather well. I have connections to most, if not all the places you'd want to visit. I can give you a piggy back ride if your feet get tired. And.... and I'm great to look at."
Unbelievable! "How is that last one a good reason? How is that even a reason?" I asked, my eyes wide.
"How is it not?" I shot an inquisitive eyebrow, challenging him to prove me wrong.
He became contemplative, chewing on his bottom lip. I quivered a bit watching him do that.
"Fine. How about... number five, I won't fall asleep if you start talking about things that are interesting to you."
I smiled at him, thinking and appreciating that he believed in those reasons. "I'll think about it."
I picked up another packet from my bag, the beginnings of a charity event Chase and I were planning, which was taking place after the wedding. "Now, go away and let me work, or stay there but be very quiet." I didn't glance back at him but I could feel the mega-watt smile he had on.
He didn't stand at first. He shifted, groaned and moaned, sighed and yawned, and stretched and whistled. When he realized that I intended to work for the rest of the flight, he stood to join Landon and Trent and challenging the winner of their little chess game.
I hid a secret smile for the rest of the flight. And squashed down the fear and confusion bubbling from within.